Ron Brownstein: Disclosure or Conflict of Interest?

Hugh Hewitt has this piece on the disclosure of Ron Brownstein, a national political correspondent, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and political analyst for CNN that his wife is now employed as an aide to Senator John McCain. The disclosure came at the end of Brownstein’s May 30th Washington Outlook column:

(Full disclosure: My wife recently took a job as an aide to Sen. John McCain [R-Ariz.], one of the judicial deal’s architects. Marriages that span the divide between the media and politics are common in Washington. They require both parties to draw a firm line between their personal attachments and professional responsibilities. I do not intend to treat McCain any differently as a result of my marriage, and my wife does not expect favored treatment for her boss. I certainly don’t expect any special treatment from McCain or his aides. Readers, of course, will have to make their own judgments, but I am confident that her new job will not affect my judgments, pro and con, about McCain and his initiatives.)

Hewitt opines:

Brownstein is correct many marriages in D.C. “span the divide between media and politics.” And he is certainly entitled to assert that “her new job will not affect my judgments about McCain,” and I am certain that no major media organization would release anyone in such a situation.

But how in the world are we supposed to believe that employment by a significant Washington player and probable presidential candidate of a spouse of a reporter who covers Washington players and probable presidential candidates won’t affect Brownstein’s judgments?

Would a paper allow the wife of an Enron executive to continue reporting on the Enron scandal? Would the son of an NBA owner be allowed to cover his father’s franchise? Would a sister be assigned to review a major motion picture in which her sibling had a supporting role?

Although marriages can span the divide between media and politics, the press is supposed to be free and unbiased. How do you spell CONFLICT OF INTEREST?

Most newspapers would reassign Mr. Brownstein to another beat.

So, must the Los Angeles Times.

Disclosure in this case is insufficient.

So, when will John Carroll, the Editor of the Los Angeles Times have Mr. Brownstein reassigned?

Aftrer reading Mr. Carroll’s diatribe against the blogosphere and its lack of accountability and ethics I would hope very soon.

John Carroll, Editor of the Los Angeles Times